Multi-criteria assessment of the resilience of ecological function areas in China with a focus on ecological restoration

• An index system to quantify resilience was developed. • The resilience level of each ecological function area in China was assessed. • China’s resilience level has obvious spatial clustering characteristics. • National ecological restoration projects should consider resilience as an factor. Population growth and rapid economic development have led to serious and widespread negative ecological impacts, so the world is faced with the task of ecological recovery. China, in particular, is carrying out a nationwide land improvement and ecological restoration campaign. The spatial distribution of ecological resilience needs to be fully considered in the planning of these projects. However, most current ecological assessments lack a focus on resilience. Based on selected resilience principles, this paper constructs an assessment indicator system for national-scale ecological resilience, evaluates the level of ecological resilience of 1,434 ecological function areas in China and discusses the layout of ecological restoration projects throughout the country. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) In China, the level of ecological resilience varies widely based on location. Generally, it shows high levels of ecological resilience occur in the south and low in the north. The resilience index ranged from 0 to 0.585. The natural condition index is the most important indicator affecting resilience. (2) China's existing ecological restoration projects are mostly distributed in areas with low levels of resilience. Restorative ecological engineering is not directly related to the distribution of resilience but is affected by the level of resilience. (3) The levels of China's resilience has a negative relationship with ecological sensitivity and ecological vulnerability level. Constructing a national-scale resilience assessment index system based on resilience criteria can effectively reveal the overall pattern of national-scale resilience. This study can provide reference for the ecological restoration planning, assessment, and adaptive management on a national level.